Showing posts with label urban fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban fantasy. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 June 2017
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Book Spotlight: The Burning City by Megan Morgan
Urban Fantasy
Date Published: July 5, 2016
Book #3 of the Siren Song series:
When the smoke clears, who will be left standing?
Tattoo artist June Coffin has another, more hidden talent: she’s a Siren who can influence people with the sound of her voice. But in the wake of a murder and shake-up at the Institute of Supernatural Research, her own powers are starting to kill her. The only chance she has of saving herself—as well as her kidnapped brother and best friend—is to become a vampire. But joining the ranks of the vengeful vamp, Occam Reed, is the last thing June wants to do.
Occam isn’t the only danger June needs to worry about. Power hungry telepath Robbie Beecher will stop at nothing to gain control over Chicago. He’ll destroy anyone who gets in his way—and June’s lover, Sam, is high on the hit list since his bid for Mayor. With the city and June’s heart being pulled in different directions, it’s only a matter of time before the powder keg explodes…and time isn’t something June has much of left. With a city on fire, can she rise from its ashes?
EXCERPT
Like a bored, despondent child, she dragged around the house, on the verge of throwing a tantrum because there was nothing to do. She walked out on the front porch. Night had fallen, the stars out. She trudged down the long set of stairs from the porch to the driveway. Dipity plunked down the steps after her.
“Don’t run away,” June told the cat as they reached the bottom. “I’m not digging through the bushes to find you. You’ll be sleeping outside tonight.”
June sat down on the bottom step. Dipity walked around the yard, sniffing things. Lightning bugs flickered in the darkness, little yellow pulses of light. The driveway was packed with cars.
She picked at her fingernails, trying to shake the looming sense of awkwardness hanging over her, the loneliness of being an outsider, of being that left-out kid she once was. She’d vowed she would never be that girl again, yet here she was.
A nearby sound startled her. She jerked her head up.
What she’d heard was strange and alarming—the sound of leaves rustling and a weird, heavy thump.
Dipity shot back over to the stairs and stopped next to June, tail in the air, staring across the yard.
June got to her feet. She squinted into the shadows under the line of trees across the yard. The trees weren’t too far away, maybe fifty feet, but it was so dark now she couldn’t make out anything.
“Hello?” she called. Maybe one of the guards was patrolling the grounds.
Silence.
She was tired of being spooked, of hearing bizarre sounds and not knowing their source. She crossed the yard toward the trees, the grass prickling her bare feet. Dipity sprinted back up the stairs to the porch.
“Hello?” she called again. “Is someone there?”
As she drew closer to the trees, the shadows lessened in density, and she could make out something—a shape—lying on the ground. She slowed, holding her breath. She didn’t want to be attacked by a nervous possum or sprayed by a skunk.
However, the shape was much too big to be an animal. In fact, it looked like a person.
She stopped, about ten feet away, standing beneath the overhanging branches. She tried to convince herself she wasn’t seeing clearly.
“Hello?” She considered using her power. “Hey, can you hear me?”
The shape didn’t move. It couldn’t be a person. What the hell would a person be doing lying underneath the trees in Sam’s yard?
Unless he wasn’t alive.
Then came the unmistakable soft swish of someone walking through the grass behind her. Before she could turn around, someone whispered close to her ear.
“For you, darling. Come home soon.”
She spun around, a scream catching in her throat.
No one was there.
“Occam!”
About the Author
Megan Morgan is an award winning urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and erotica author from Cleveland, Ohio. RWA member, bartender by day, and purveyor of things that go bump in the night, she’s trying to turn writing into her day job so she can be on the other side of the bar for a change. Hailing from the often-wintry shores of Lake Erie, she lives with an attention-seeking cat and her adult son, both of which shed too much.
Contact Links
Pre-Order Links
Monday, 16 May 2016
Release Day Spotlight: Kaitlin's Tale by Christine Amsden
About the Book
Title: Kaitlin’s Tale
Author: Christine Amsden
Genre: Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy
Kaitlin Mayer is on the run from the father of her baby – a vampire who wants her to join him in deadly eternity. Terrified for her young son, she seeks sanctuary with the Hunters Guild. Yet they have their own plans for her son, and her hopes of safety are soon shattered.
When she runs into Matthew Blair, an old nemesis with an agenda of his own, she dares to hope for a new escape. But Matthew is a telepath, and Kaitlin’s past is full of dark secrets she never intended to reveal.
*Companion to the Cassie Scot Series
About the Author
Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, which scars the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.
Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. In addition to being a writer, she’s a freelance editor, mom, and foster mom.
Social Media Links:
Get the Cassie Scot Series
Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective (Cassie Scot #1)
Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2)
Mind Games (Cassie Scot #3)
Stolen Dreams (Cassie Scot #4)
Madison’s Song (a Cassie Scot Companion)
Monday, 21 March 2016
Release Day Giveaway: The Guicai Talisman by A.M. Griffin
About the Book
Title: The Underground Chronicles of Babylonia Jones, PI: The Guicai Talisman
Author: A.M. Griffin
Genre: Urban Fantasy
What does a woman have to do to prove she belongs in the Undercity? Sure, I’m unclassed and only half paranormal, but that doesn’t mean I can’t solve cases. Since the established PI’s won’t acknowledge my right to a territory, I’m taking jobs from whoever will hire me, doing what I do best…proving myself to be a bad-ass problem solver. Which is how I find myself breaking into Zaid’s house, looking for a talisman my witch client says the very powerful vampire stole.
Now, I can make flowers grow, hear the wind’s whispers and talk to animals, but I don’t have the gift of seeing the future. If I did, I’d have known not to take this case. Because no matter the outcome, nothing good can come from messing with the Guicai Talisman, or it’s far too gorgeous guardian.
Cover art provided by Erik Reeves http://facebook.com/Erikreevesart
The next book in the series…
The Lycan Job
Being hired by the Alpha of the Lycan pack to solve the mystery of his son’s death could make my name as a PI in the Undercity—if it doesn’t get me killed first. Not only am I looking for a perp who obviously won’t hesitate to commit murder, but even before I get working on the problem I’m being threatened. That’s not going to stop me though. Neither is interference from Zaid, the hot Vampire who keeps popping up at the most inopportune times.
Yet this turns out to be anything but a straightforward case. I’m learning more about the workings of the Undercity than ever before, and what I’m finding out is pretty ugly. It’s making me question everything I thought I knew about the Houses, and what I’m missing by not being claimed by my father. But that may well be a question I won’t get a chance to ponder, because even tapping into every ability I possess might not be enough to help me survive the Lycan Job.
Author Bio
A. M. Griffin is a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies.Links
Where you can find me:
Website: http://www.amgriffinbooks.com/
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Email: amgriffinbooks@gmail.com
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Buy the Book
Buy on Amazon.
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Saturday, 12 September 2015
SF & Fantasy Sale 41 books at 99 cents each
41 books, all 99c for the weekend of 12-13 September.
There is a great range of books, from science fiction to urban fantasy to young adult and epic fantasy. We also have four entire box sets for 99c.
FIND ALL SALE BOOKS HERE
Here is just a small selection:
Shifting Realities by Patty Jansen
A few years ago, a military doctor walking the corridors of New Jakarta Space Station saved Melati's life. She signed up for the International Space Force to pay back her moral debt to him. But her family thinks she has betrayed her people. It was ISF who forcefully removed their grandmothers and grandfathers from the crowded slums of Jakarta to work in interstellar space stations.
It is Melati's job to teach six-year old construct soldiers, artificial humans grown in labs and activated with programmed minds to serve in an interstellar war. Her latest cohort has one student who claims that he is not a little boy, but a mindbase traveller whose swap partner took off with his body. It soon becomes clear that a lot of people are scouring the space station for this fugitive, a scientist with dangerous knowledge about interstellar space.
The best place to hide in the space station is amongst the many cultures and subcultures of the expat Indonesian B-sector. Looking for him brings Melati into direct conflict with her people. She does not want to be seen as one of the enemy, but if the scientist's knowledge falls in the wrong hands, war will come to the station.
***
The Chosen by Annette Gisby
he neighbouring kingdoms of Oscia and Arcathia have been at a tentative peace for three years after centuries of warfare. Prince Severin of Arcathia has been brought up to put duty before all else and as the only son of the King and Queen, it is his duty to marry and produce an heir. His parents want him to marry an Oscian princess to cement that tentative peace. Unfortunately Severin isn't interested in princesses. Now, if he had his pick of princes that would be another matter.
Havyn has been a slave all his life. When his aptitude for wizardry is discovered, he finds himself purchased and freed by Prince Severin and apprenticed to the royal wizard, Ildar. His duty is to stay chaste to keep his powers strong, but his feelings for Severin sorely test his resolve.
With kingdoms at war, the throne hanging in the balance, magic in the air, and outside forces trying to keep them apart, can the two men find happiness together, or is duty more important than love?
***
Dark Legion by Paul Kleynhans
The Empire made him a slave. They should have killed him when they had the chance.
Saul and his allies plot to steal the crown of Ubrain from the Emperor's vault. In the crown, he sees the means to unify his enslaved people and bring them to freedom. But their road is not a straight one and brings them face to face with the Inquisition. Beyond that, they get caught in the middle of an unseen war as older powers work to twist the world to their own design. Saul has never been one to set easy tasks for himself, but he is determined to break the Empire's grip on his people, no matter the cost.
It was a mistake to let him live. One the Empire will pay for with blood.
Dark Legion is the exciting series starter for the Blood of Blood trilogy. Get it today.
***
Wyrd Calling by Shen Hart
In the streets of the city, someone or something is killing sirens, and the Wyrd Sisters want it stopped.
They send their bound creation Thalia, the wild-child shifter, to track the killer down. Thalia would much rather be making a quick buck or playing with the fae, but bound is bound and Thalia must turn her new pack of shifters into an effective team to try and stop the killings. Time is as short as Thalia's temper. Can she make her pack work together and find the killer, or will the killer find her first?
Wyrd Calling: Dark urban fantasy just shifted.
Friday, 17 July 2015
Cover Reveal: Unearthed by Lauren Stewart
Title: Unearthed
Series: The Heights, Volume 2
Author: Lauren Stewart
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Release Date: August 19, 2015
Word Count: 107,000
ISBN: 978-0-990334033
PRINT: 978-0-990334040
Preorder Unearthed on
Blurb
“What would you give up for freedom?”
“Everything.”
“Even if it wasn't yours?”
For three years, Keira lived in hell on earth, kept and tortured by a psychopath. He should’ve killed her. Because now she’s looking for payback, to see his face when she shoves a stake into his chest, to feel his dust under her boot. Then she’ll finally be free…of everything but the memories, scars, and nightmares. Unfortunately, when a demon starts hunting the same prey, Keira’s life becomes less about getting revenge and more about fighting temptation.
For three tours above the earth’s crust, Davyn has been as close to heaven as a demon can be. In a few weeks, he’ll go home to be reforged, stripped of all the humanity he’s accumulated and be reminded of exactly what he is. Of course, in the depths of hell, nobody “finds themselves” through group therapy and happy pills. It’s not all bad news though—before he goes, at least he gets to kill a vampire. Maybe a human too, if that stubborn little hunter keeps getting in his way. After all, a nice ass can only buy so much of Davyn’s patience.
In this highly anticipated sequel to Unseen, two people from opposite sides of a war will discover the price of freedom and what they're willing to pay for it. But in the Heights, nothing is ever fair. For something they both want, one of them will pay with their eternity.
*
The Heights not only protects the secrecy of vampires, shifters, demons, angels, and other supernaturals, it protects the humans unaware of the world hidden within their own.
***
Excerpt:
Davyn might be big, but he wasn’t slow. He moved towards the hunter, figuring she’d backup from the three-hundred-pound demon coming directly at her. Nope. She dropped to her knees and spun out of his path, almost fast enough. He swung his arm down, hitting her shoulder. The knife popped out of her grip and shot across the alley, landing with a “plop” into a puddle.
“Aww, did I break your toy?” he asked.
They both glanced at it, then each other. Simultaneously, they moved, except she didn’t go for the knife. She went for him.
What the fuck? On his way to the ground, he had his very first bout with shock. The little woman had grabbed both of his legs and squeezed, using his momentum and bulk against him. He landed face-first on the cement, so unprepared for the challenge that he hadn’t even put out his hands. The knife laid three feet away.
The hunter’s boot caught him under his chest and flipped him over. He grunted as she made a move, something more like what you’d see in a fake wrestling match than in an actual fight. She straddled him, her hands on his arms, her feet curled behind her holding his thighs to the ground.
He’d been more intimidated by kittens. Even using all her weight, she was never going to keep him down. But he gave her props because she shouldn’t have been able to get him on his back at all.
Millennia of torture, tests, ordeals—physical and mental—and he’s outwitted by a girl with a stellar body and a crusty knife. Not his proudest moment. Okay, fun was over. If she had a moment, it was because he gave it to her.
“You can’t win this, puppet.”
“I don’t have to win,” she said breathlessly. “All I have to do is not lose.”
He shrugged one shoulder, throwing her off-balance enough to reach out and grab the knife. He hissed when his fingers met the blade, the salt burning like acid. She yelled and threw herself towards the weapon, but he wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from reaching it. He flipped it around in his hand so he held the handle and brought the blade to her throat.
“In case you missed it, this is you losing.”
She jerked away and rolled. He grabbed her by the only piece of clothing he could—what remained of her shirt. When it ripped apart in his hand, she stopped, arms curled in to cover her chest and eyes opened wide in shock.
“Seriously?” He laughed. “We’re trying to kill each other. I could’ve grabbed you by the throat and snapped it just as easily, but this is what freaks you out? Me seeing your…?” Oh shit, those were nice.
Nope. First thing’s first. With her hands and mind occupied, she didn’t even try to stop him when he wrapped a leg around her and used it to flip both of them over so he was on top of her and the blade was at her neck again. Now, what was that second thing?
Right. When his eyes lowered from her eyes to her mouth, she inhaled sharply. Her shield slipped for just a second, long enough to let him know exactly what she wanted. Same thing he did.
“Oh, puppet, don’t tempt me.” He felt his cock harden, his temperature go up a few notches. Even though she must have felt both changes, she didn’t flinch, her self-destructive desire only increasing. His gaze roamed lazily from her eyes and lips to where the blade dented the skin of her neck, down…
Their bodies fit together in a very pleasant, very unhealthy way.
Fuck. This was as stupid as it was dangerous. The salt had nothing on this. The harder his cock got, the hotter his entire body got. He geared himself up to get away from her. Her chest lifted with every shallow breath.
Hotter.
Just another second and he would get off her.
In a second.
She pressed her hips up against his.
Even hotter.
Thirty maybe.
“Another hot flash?” she asked.
He shot to his feet, tossing the knife at the wall, shattering it. “I could’ve fucking killed you.” Not with the knife or even on purpose. He’d lost control of his heat to a degree that should have made her boil.
“That’s for the tip, Captain Obvious.” After she’d gotten her feet, she touched the side of her neck where the blade had almost punctured her skin, her other arm across her breasts to hide them, instead just making it harder to look away.
“I wasn’t talking about the blade. Didn’t I—” He looked at the remnants of her pants, then at his. Melted pretty much everywhere they’d been touching. “Didn’t I burn you?”
“Oh please, you’re not that hot.” She looked down at her arms and chest. They were red, but not as much as they should’ve been. If she was entirely human. “Mind giving me my jacket?”
He grabbed it off the ground and tossed it to her, his breath coming faster, his mind a blur. He’d been right about how dangerous she was, and it had nothing to do with how well she fought.
It was way more than that. She could take his heat. Sure, if he turned himself all the way up, she would burn just like everything else he touched, but if he held back, just a little…
He wiped his mouth to hide the beginnings of a smile. Fuck, he could use her body to dispel his heat, vent through her. Nothing would catch fire or melt, and no one would even notice. It’d be almost as if he was free from hell, not tied to that horrible heat. He could go anywhere.
He looked at her. Just looked. He didn’t have to push into her mind to find what tempted her the way all demons above the crust avoided setting fires. Constantly having to look for something to use in people’s head, picking through their stupid thoughts to relieve the heat.
He didn’t need to do that with her. He could just…touch her, and she could take it. Take him. Her damage could be his freedom.
But nothing in their world came without danger, and he didn’t have to think too hard to figure out what it could be.
She shifted onto her other hip. “Are we going to fight or are you going to stand there staring at me?”
“We’re done here,” he said shakily. “But if you try to use salt on me again, I won’t be as forgiving.”
“Got it—no balls, no salt. Congratulations on your big win.”
This fight, sure. But every other way? Fuck no. He hadn’t won—she had.
***
Lauren Stewart lives in Northern California with two of the most amazing children that the world has ever seen. She reads almost every genre so, naturally, her writing reflects that. With every book, every story, you'll find elements of other genres--fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, YA, women's literature, all with a touch of humor because what doesn't kill us should make us laugh.
Other books:
Unseen (The Heights Vol 1)
Hyde, an Urban Fantasy (Hyde, Book I)
Jekyll (Hyde, Book II)
Strange Case (Hyde, Book III)
Darker Water (Once and Forever #1)
No Experience Required (a Summer Rains novel #1)
Second Bite
Email: ReadLaurenS@gmail.com
Website: www.ReadLaurenS.com
FB Author Page: www.facebook.com/LaurenStewartAuthor
Twitter: @ReadLaurenS
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